BY Women and Hollywood
Watch: ‘SNL’ Star Sasheer Zamata Becomes ACLU Celebrity Ambassador, Talks Women’s Rights
Actress and comedian Sasheer Zamata has been named a celebrity ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Zamata’s title will see the “Saturday Night Live” featured player...
‘American Hustle’-Style Movie Being Written About Sylvia Robinson, “Mother of Hip Hop”
After the hip-hop blockbuster “Straight Outta Compton” made headlines this summer for erasing the women who made NWA possible, a new movie seeks to showcase female contributions to the musical...
Women in Animation Rolls Out ‘50–50 by 2025’ Initiative
Many top animation programs boast 50% or more female students in their graduating classes, but the cartoon world still employs four men for every woman. In response to this stark gender inequity,...
Trailer Watch: Natalie Portman Protects Her Husband and Child in Western ‘Jane Got a Gun’
We finally have a trailer for “Jane Got A Gun,” the Natalie Portman-led Western that’s been mired in controversy for years. The film has been making headlines since its original director,...
5 Reasons to Watch ‘Suffragette’ This Weekend
The fight for women’s right to the ballot comes alive this weekend with the opening of “Suffragette,” starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Romola Garai, Anne-Marie Duff and Meryl...
Trailer Watch: Jennifer Lawrence is a Powerhouse in Sordid Tale of Millionaire Inventor ‘Joy’
A newly cut trailer has been released for Jennifer Lawrence’s upcoming vehicle “Joy,” her third collaboration with director David O. Russell. The spot begins with Joy (Lawrence) telling her...
Chicken & Egg Announces Participants of Inaugural Accelerator Lab for Non-Fiction Projects
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the selected participants of its inaugural Accelerator Lab, which will offer first- and second-time female filmmakers working on non-fiction projects the...
Biopic About Paralympic Bronze Medalist and ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Runner-Up Amy Purdy in the Works
When Amy Purdy was 19 years old, she contracted a form of bacterial meningitis that led to both of her legs being amputated below the knee. Purdy, who is now 35, has since made her mark in sports,...
Happy Lauren Graham Day! ‘Gilmore Girls’ Returns, as Does Graham’s Partnership With Mae Whitman
Lauren Graham has starred in two of the most beloved television series since the new millennium: the WB’s cult classic “Gilmore Girls” and NBC’s critically acclaimed “Parenthood.” Both...
Trailer Watch: Charlotte Rampling Enters the Best Actress Race in Marital Drama ’45 Years’
On the cusp of her 45-year wedding anniversary, Kate (Charlotte Rampling) begins to question her relationship with her husband Geoff (Tom Courtenay) when another woman enters their marriage. When...
Karyn Kusama’s ‘The Invitation’ Wins Best Film Award at 48th Sitges Film Festival
Karyn Kusama’s dinner-party drama “The Invitation” took home the Best Film trophy from Spain’s Sitges Film Festival over the weekend. The film opened the the 2015 SXSW Festival and has been...
Lupita Nyong’o’s Liberian Civil War Drama ‘Eclipsed’ Headed to Broadway
Lupita Nyong’o is taking her Liberian-civil-war drama, “Eclipsed,” to Broadway. After making her stage debut just two months ago, the Oscar-winning actress and the rest of her off-Broadway...
‘Project Greenlight’ Exemplifies All That is Wrong With the Film Business
I don’t particularly like reality shows, so I really had no interest in watching HBO’s “Project Greenlight.” But after all the talk about the show’s diversity issues and seeing the title...
Former Texas Senator Wendy Davis Inspires TV Show
Wendy Davis, the Democratic Texas state senator who became a viral sensation after filibustering an anti-abortion bill for 11 hours, will serve as the inspiration for a new NBC dramedy. Written by...
Gemma Arterton to Star in Catherine Shepherd’s Directorial Debut About Virgin Birth
Catherine Shepherd’s directorial debut “Like A Virgin” has found a leading lady in “Gemma Bovery” star Gemma Arterton. Deadline reports that the former Bond girl will play a woman named...
Women Helmers Win 3 of 4 Awards at London Film Fest; Athina Rachel Tsangari Takes Best Film
“The programming team has declared this the year of the strong woman,” said festival director Clare Stewart back in September at the the launch of this year’s BFI London Film Festival. The...
Take Part in the EEOC’s Investigation into Industry-Wide Discrimination Against Women Directors
Last May, The New York Times published a15-page letter from the ACLU to the EEOC and two California state agenciesurging them to investigate Hollywood for sex discrimination against...
Sally Potter Casting Next Two Films, Dad-Daughter Portrait ‘Molly’ and Political Comedy ‘The Party’
Sally Potter is prepping her two follow-ups to 2012’s Cold War-set coming-of-age tale “Ginger and Rosa.” “I now have two complete scripts ready to go,” the British director announced of...
Trailer Watch: Sofia Coppola Directs Star-Studded Netflix Musical-Comedy ‘A Very Murray Christmas’
Sofia Coppola and Bill Murray are reuniting for the first time since 2003’s “Lost in Translation” in an unexpected format: a Christmas special for Netflix. While Coppola’s films consistently...
Sisters Doing it for Themselves: October 2015 Crowdfunding Picks
Women are capable of anything, especially when it comes to fighting to tell their stories told. The following eclectic selection of projects is testament to the expansive talent and aptitude that...
Weekly Update for October 16: Women Centric, Directed and Written Films Playing Near You
Films About Women Opening This Week Truth Cate Blanchett is at the peak of her talents as producer Mary Mapes, who, along with Robert Redford as Dan Rather, takes the fall for reporting on a false...
BFI Officially Launches Diversity Fund
Expect to find more diversity both on and off camera in upcoming British film projects. The British Film Institute (BFI) will officially launch its Diversity Fund with an initial investment of £1...
‘Room’ Author/Screenwriter Emma Donoghue on Her “Deeply Feminist” Film and Industry Sexism
The release of “Room” will likely spell the beginning of Brie Larson’s career as an A-list star. While Larson won great favor with critics for her heartbreaking portrayal of a group-home...
10 Women Directors Who Could Helm a ‘Star Wars’ Spin-Off
Producer Kathleen Kennedy, who’ll oversee the upcoming “Stars Wars” trilogy and standalone Han Solo film, is adamant that her version of a galaxy that originally only had just six women in it...
Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks Wins $300,000 Gish Prize for “Highly Accomplished Artists”
Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks has been awarded the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which honors “highly accomplished artists… who have pushed the boundaries of their art forms, contributed to...
Issa Rae’s ‘Insecure’ Picked Up By HBO
Issa Rae’s long-gestating TV series, “Insecure,” has received a series order from HBO. That’ll make Rae, who got her start with her two-season web series “The Misadventures of Awkward...
Join Women and Hollywood’s Free Conversation on the Swedish Model for Gender Equity in Film
The Swedish Film Institute has been making headlines recently for achieving 50–50 parity in its funding distribution between male and female filmmakers. Please join Women and Hollywood’s...
‘Room’ Author/Screenwriter Emma Donoghue on Her “Deeply Feminist” Film and Industry Sexism
The release of "Room" will likely spell the beginning of Brie Larson’s career as an A-list star. While Larson won great favor with critics for her heartbreaking portrayal of a...
Support ’13 Chambers,’ a Horror Anthology by 13 Women Directors
An abandoned, 97-year-old school will be the site of a new horror anthology featuring 13 female filmmakers — provided the producing team can fundraise just $10,000 for the project. There are...
2015 DOC NYC Lineup is 38% Female-Helmed; Hillary Rodham Clinton to Appear at Fest
DOC NYC’s 2015 lineup has been announced, and of 104 features screening, 39 are directed or co-directed by women — a figure that amounts to 38% of the programming. Last year, women helmed 43...
Lynn Shelton to Team Up With ‘This American Life’ for Movie About P.I. Moms Caught in Drug Scheme
Lynn Shelton is set to direct a movie version of the most popular stories “This American Life” has ever aired. “The Incredible Case of the P.I. Moms” told the story of soccer moms who...
Kate Winslet To Play War Photographer Lee Miller on the Big Screen
Back in March, we reported that Jennifer Lawrence will play war photographer Lynsey Addario in an upcoming adaptation of Addario’s bestselling memoir “It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life...
In Praise of ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Star Rachel Bloom, the Anti-Felicity
Charlize Theron in Talks to Take on Role Meant for Brad Pitt
After becoming the star of the summer by kicking patriarchy’s pasty, shriveled ass in “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Charlize Theron appears to be pursuing more action roles. The Oscar winner is in...
Trailer Watch: Laurie Anderson Offers Emotional, Experimental Tribute to Her Pet in ‘Heart of a Dog’
“I kissed her on the head and I said, ‘I’ll love you forever.’” Experimental artist and director Laurie Anderson makes this solemn oath not to a newborn child or a cherished lover, but to...
Meryl Streep to Lead Berlinale Awards Team in Her First Festival Jury Role
Meryl Streep will serve as president of the awards jury at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival. It will be the three-time Oscar winner’s first time on a film-festival jury. Streep...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Chanya Button — ‘Burn Burn Burn’
Chanya Button made her start in the industry at an early age, working as an Assistant Director on the “Harry Potter” feature-film franchise. Button has since worked extensively across both the...
Quote of the Day: Mimi Leder: In Filmmaking, “It’s Mostly Males Hiring, and They Mostly Hire Males”
In 1998, “Deep Impact” left a serious impression at the box office, earning nearly $350 million dollars on an estimated $80 million budget. But we haven’t seen much of its director Mimi...
Lena Dunham Exec-Producing ’60s Feminist Comedy Set in Magazine World for HBO
If you’ve read “Not That Kind of Girl,” Lena Dunham’s memoiristic essay collection, you know that the “Girls” creator used to be obsessed with Helen Gurley Brown, the editor-in-chief of...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Micah Magee — ‘Petting Zoo’
In addition to making films, Micah Magee has worked as managing and programming director of Austin’s Cinematexas International Short Film Festival, pirate-radio programmer and print journalist. In...
Barbra Streisand to Receive 2015 Sherry Lansing Award
Barbra Streisand has been named this year’s recipient of the Sherry Lansing Award, which celebrates female leadership in the media. The pioneering...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Natalie Cristiani — ‘Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta’
Natalie Cristiani graduated from Centro Sperimentale Di Cinematografia in Rome as a Film Editor in 2002. From 2002 she has worked as a film editor with various talented young directors, including...
The 3 Most WTF Excerpts from Quentin Tarantino’s Interview Diminishing Kathryn Bigelow & Ava DuVernay
Does Quentin Tarantino want to be taken seriously, or doesn’t he? Based on a new NY Times interview with novelist Bret Easton Ellis, the answer seems to be “as long as you work under the same...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Laura Bispuri — ‘Sworn Virgin’
Laura Bispuri’s 2010 short film “Passing Time” won Italy’s David di Donatello Award. “Sworn Virgin” is her first feature film. (Variety) “Sworn Virgin” will premiere at the 2015 BFI...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Miranda Pennell — ‘The Host’
Miranda Pennell originally trained in contemporary dance and later studied visual anthropology. Pennell’s video work until 2007 explored different forms of collective performance and has been...
Why Queer Women (and Women in General) Should Be Excited for Netflix’s ‘Jessica Jones’
For those who have been waiting — and waiting and waiting and waiting — for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to give us a queer female character, the wait is finally over. Over the weekend,...
5 Awesomely Candid Things J. Law Wrote About Being Paid Less Than “the Lucky People With Dicks”
Jennifer Lawrence received a Golden Globe, a BAFTA award and her third Oscar nomination for her performance in “American Hustle.” But the period crime drama has also become an albatross for the...
LFF 2015 Women Directors: Meet Mabel Cheung — ‘A Tale of Three Cities’
Mabel Cheung is an award-winning director and producer. Her debut feature, “The Illegal Immigrant” (1985), won her the Best Director Prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards and a Special Jury Award...
Trailer Watch: Janis Joplin Goes From Singer to Legend in Amy Berg’s Doc ‘Janis: Little Girl Blue’
A trailer has arrived for Amy Berg’s Janis Joplin doc “Janis: Little Girl Blue.” The spot begins with a voiceover from Joplin herself, who says, “I started singing when I was about 17.” It...
Disney Hiring Women Screenwriters, But Not Women Directors, for Its Live-Action Adaptations
Disney has been rewriting both its history (“Saving Mr. Banks”) and its own movies (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Maleficent,” “Cinderella”). Interestingly, three of the four films...
CBS Greenlights New Murder Mystery from Former ‘Good Wife’ Writer Corinne Brinkerhoff
Corinne Brinkerhoff, formerly a writer/supervising producer on “The Good Wife” and writer/co-EP on “Jane the Virgin,” is getting her own show. CBS made a straight-to-series order for...